Game Notes
UTT Game Notes
Live Stats 
Watch Live
Tickets 
 
CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M continues Lone Star Conference action on Saturday afternoon as the No. 11 Buffs welcome UT Tyler to the First United Bank Center in the program's first trip to Canyon.  Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT following the women's game. 
 
SCOUTING UT TYLER
Patriots are receiving votes in the national poll standing at 9-1 overall record and 1-0 in conference play after defeating Midwestern State in a 69-68 thriller.  UTT was selected to finish ninth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll after finishing the abbreviated 2020-21 season 12-10. 
 
The Patriots outscore their opponents 81.6-62.0 for the conference's second highest scoring margin at 19.6 with UTT shooting 49.1 percent (276-of-562) from the floor while shooting 40.5 from the deep (81-of-200) and 76.3 percent (183-240) from the charity stripe.  UT Tyler averages 37.2 rebounds a game to go along with 15.7 assists, eight steals, and 3.2 blocks.  
 
Three players average double figure scoring for the Patriots led by Micah Fuller at 12.8 ppg with the Bessemer, Ala. native posting a team-high 128 field goals (12.8 ppg) to shoot 39.8 percent from the floor, including 14 3-pointers (35%).  Da'Zhon Wyche is UTT's second leading scorer at 11.1 ppg followed by Eysan Wiley (10 ppg). 
 
Milan Szabo leads the Patriots defense with 67 total rebounds (6.7 rpg), 26 of those coming on offense.  The junior from Slovakia has also denied 11 shots this season while averaging nine points a game. 
 
Louis Wilson is in his third season as the Patriots head coaching after spending four seasons at the Division I level with Grand Canyon and Utah State as an assistant coach following a four-year stint as the head coach at region foe Adams State.  With the Grizzlies, he led the program to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II national tournament.  He has collected a 124-76 (.620) overall record as the head coach and is 29-30 (.483) with UT Tyler.  
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's matchup marks just the second meeting between the two schools after WT took the series opener, 73-62, on Feb. 20, 2020.  In the victory, former Buff Qua Grant registered a game-high 25 points followed by Joel Murray with 20 including nine rebounds. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
In their last outing, the Buffs defeated Texas A&M-Commerce, 79-69, handing the Lions their first conference loss of the season.  WT advanced to 15-2 overall while TAMUC moved to 10-2 with both schools standing 2-1 in LSC play.  
 
Zach Toussaint led the Buffs offense with his sixth 20-point career game as the sophomore shot 6-for-15 from the floor, 5-for-6 at the charity stripe with three 3-pointers while collecting a season-high four assists.  Larry Wise was the second-leading scorer with 19 points while Dalin Williams brought down a game-high eight rebounds. 
 
The Lions were led by Carson Tuttle's 18 points followed by Augustine Ene and Alphonso Willis with 11 points each while Clashon Gaffney registered six rebounds and four blocks for Texas A&M-Commerce. 
 
CLIMBIN' THE LADDER
With his three 3-pointers against Texas A&M-Commerce Zach Toussaint passed former Buff Qua Grant in the all-time 3-point leader board and now ties sixth with Jordan Collins at 169.  WT All-American David Chavlovich (201-18) set the all-time career record with 388 threes to the set the program standard.  
 
A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Buffs have a scoring average of 79.9 while limiting opponents to 63.5 for a 16.4 scoring margin with WT shooting 43.0 percent (477-for-1,109) from the floor including 34.2 (percent 154for-450) from beyond the arc and 75.1 percent (250-for-333) at the free throw line.  
 
WT ranks first in the LSC with 40.5 rebounds per game alongside 11.8 assists, 7.4 steals, and 3.9 blocks.  The Buffs force 14.8 turnovers per game, scoring 16.1 points off of their opponents' turnovers. 
 
Johnsburg, Ill. product Zach Toussaint is the Buffs leading scorer, totaling 253 points on the season, averaging 14.9 which ranks 10^th in the conference.  Newcomers Larry Wise and Julius Brown follow Toussaint with each averaging double figures with Wise scoring 13.9 ppg and Brown at 12.4.  Brown leads WT with 23 steals and 38 assists.
 
Kavon Booker has brought down a team-high 102 rebounds (6.0 rpg) which ranks third in the LSC while Hayden Blankley totals 90 (5.3 rpg).  Stinnett, Texas native Dalin Williams has denied a team-high 19 shots this season to stand third in the conference.
 
WT HEAD COACH TOM BROWN
Thursday's victory against Texas A&M-Commerce marked head coach Tom Brown's 196^th career victory and is just four games from reaching his 200^th career victory milestone. Brown is in his eighth season at the helm of the Buffs, registering an overall record of 196-45 (.813) with four NCAA Tournament Appearances including the programs first appearance in the National Championship game last season.  The two-time LSC Coach of the Year led the Buffs to their fourth consecutive conference tournament championship title.
 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
WT was one of two members from the Lone Star Conference represented in the rankings as the Buffs stand 11^th in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25.  Lubbock Christian remained atop the national standings for the sixth consecutive week at 12-0 overall with 13-of-16 possible first-place votes followed by Northwest Missouri State (12-1, 3-fpv), by Nova Southeastern (12-0, 1-fpv), Chico State (10-0), Minnesota Duluth (14-0), Cal State San Bernardino (10-1), Mercyhurst (10-1), West Liberty (10-1), Cal State San Marcos (10-0) and Indiana to round out the top 10.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The four-time defending LSC Champions were picked second after going 19-3 in 2020-21 including the program's first appearance in the National Championship game.   WT received 13-of-42 possible first place votes, following the preseason favorite Lubbock Christian with 26.  DBU was picked third followed by Texas A&M-Kingsville and St. Edward's in the top five.
 
Midwestern State was selected sixth followed by Angelo State, Texas A&M-Commerce, UT Tyler, UT Permian Basin, UAFS, St. Mary's, Oklahoma Christian, Eastern New Mexico, Cameron, Texas A&M International and Western New Mexico. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and broadcasts will be provided by the WT athletic communications department with the game aired on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.  Broadcasts to all games and live stats can be found at GoBuffsGo.com. 
 
The LSC Digital Network will offer basketball season passes, giving fans access to all regular-season contests for that sport. In addition, viewers will continue to have the option to purchase a $10 day pass that provides access to all broadcasts aired that day and access to all archived content for 24 hours.  
 
UP NEXT
The Buffs will continue Lone Star Conference action on the road as they set out to Austin to take on the St. Edward's Hilltoppers on Jan. 13 followed by a game against the St. Mary's Rattlers on Jan. 15 in San Antonio.